Italy's New Year's Eve food tradition commonly includes lentils as a symbol of wealth and financial prosperity.
Their association with money comes partly from their small, round, coin-like appearance. Families often serve lentils at the turn of the year, frequently alongside cotechino or zampone, traditional pork products from northern and central Italian cuisine. The meal is meant to welcome abundance in the coming year.
The custom is regional and family-based rather than a single nationally prescribed ceremony. Recipes, serving times, and accompanying dishes differ across Italy, but lentils remain one of the most recognizable New Year foods in the country.
A common mix-up is to describe the dish as a universal midnight countdown ritual. In practice, lentils may be eaten on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, depending on local custom. Their symbolic role also differs from that of grapes in Spain: lentils represent prosperity through their resemblance to coins, while Spain's twelve grapes correspond to the year's twelve months.